Form fitting diaper



Jan. 2, 1934. w. L. LEAVY FORM FITTING DIAPER Filed Jan. 6, 1933 WilliamMu l L ll

. Lemfy ATTORN EY Patented Jan. 2, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1Claim.

The invention is a diaper which is formed of a piece of material foldedat the center and provided with adjustable fastening means at the upperends in which the material is formed by drawing the needles together toform close stitches at the center or at the portion which is between thelegs of the wearer, and the part forming the central portion of thefront and back is knitted with a comparatively large amount of fullnessproviding comfort to the wearer.

The object of the invention is to provide a diaper that is shaped to fitan infant -which may readily be applied.

Another object is to provide a ready formed diaper which is shaped tothe, form of an infant.

Another object is to provide a ready cut diaper in which the portionthat is positioned between the legs is drawn together and portions atthe front and back are formed with an appreciable amount of fullness toprovide comfort.

Another object is to provide a ready cut diaper which is shaped toconform to the body of a child so that there is no superfluous materialor projecting ends.

A further object is to provide a diaper which may readily be put on andtaken off which, when properly adjusted, will absolutely remain inplace.

And a stillfurther object of the invention is to provide a ready cutdiaper made of a knitted material in which the material is knit or wovento conform to the shape of the body which is of a simple and economicalconstruction.

With these ends in view the invention embodies a diaper formed of onepiece of material with the portion between the legs knit with a closestitch and parts at the front and back knit with a comparatively freestitch providing fullness, and in which fastening means are provided atthe upper ends.

Other features and advantages of the inven tion will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View showing the diaper as it would appear in use.

Figure 2 is a view showing the diaper in the open position.

Figure 3 is a view showing a diaper of an alternate design in the openposition.

Figure 4 is a view showing the diaper shown in Figure 3 in the closedposition.

Figure 5 is a cross section thru the diapers shown in Figures 1 and 2showing the double thickness of the material thereof.

In the drawing the diaper is shown as it would be made wherein numeral 1indicates the portion forming the front, numeral 2 the portion formingthe rear and numerals 3 and 4 the section in the front and rear in whichthe fullness is provided. 6 The diaper is knit in one continuous pieceof material in a tubular form, as shown in Figure 5, so that a doublethickness is provided thruout and the ends are overcast, as shown inFigures 1 and 2, or bound with tape, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, toprevent unravelling, however, it will be understood that the ends may bebound in any other manner. As the diaper is knit the stitches may becomparatively close at the ends 5 and 6 and then between the points 7and 8, between which the sections 3 and 4 are formed, the stitches arecomparatively full to provide fullness in the diaper between thesepoints. Beyond the points 8 the stitches are gradually drawn together sothat the section 9, forming the central part of the diaper, or the partbetween the legs of the wearer, is knit with a comparatively closestitch so that it will be drawn together and, therefore, be neat andcomfortable. It will be understood that this portion of the diaper maybe drawn together by any other means or in any other manner and alsothat the fullness may be provided by any other means or in any othermanner. It will also be understood that the fullness extendscontinuously around the tubular sectionof the diaper so that it isformed in both layers of material at both the front and back.

The front of the diaper is provided with button holes 10 and the innersurface is reinforced by tape, as indicated by the dotted lines 11,which covers the button holes and the button holes are formed therethru,thereby reinforcing the garment at these points. Buttons 12 are placedon the back of the garment and the garment may also be reinforced atthese points by tape, as indicated by the dotted lines 13. It will beunderstood that the buttons and button holes may be located at any otherpoints, that any number of buttons or button holes may be used and'thediaper may be reinforced by any other means to accommodate the buttonsand button holes. It will also be understood that any other means may beused for fastening the upper ends of the diaper or for holding thediaper in place.

In the design shown in Figures 3 and 4 the diaper is formed of twopieces of material, forming a tubular thickness and the fullness isprovided by the manner in which the material is cut and also by thearrangement of the fastening means. In this design the diaper is formedof two layers of material having a continuous piece of tape 14 bindingthe edges, and the central part 15 is comparatively narrow whereas theedges curve outward to form the ends 16 and 1'7. The end 16 forming thefront is provided with button holes 18 at the sides and a central buttonhole 19 at the center and the back is provided with buttons 20 overwhich the button holes 18 may be buttoned to hold the diaper in place.It will also be understood that in this design the buttons and buttonholes may be arranged in any other manner and any other means may beused for fastening the upper ends of the diaper together. The exactshape of the diaper may also be changed if desired, however, it ispreferred to use a diaper with a narrow portion at the center andoutwardly curved portions at the upper ends which are arranged with thebuttons and button holes slanting slightly outward so that there is agreater distance between the lower set of buttons and the upper setwhich provides fullness at the front and back of the diaper.

It will be understood that other changes may be made in the diaperwithout departing from the spirit of the invention, one of which changesmay be in the use of one thickness of material instead of two, anothermay be in the use of two layers of material with the edges bound bytape, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, for the diaper shown in'Figures 1 and2, another may be in the use of a different means for drawing thesection 9 of the diaper together and also for providing fullness in thesections 3 and 4, and still another may be in the general design orshape of the upper ends of the diaper.

The manner in which the diaper is made will be readily understood fromthe foregoing description. In use the diaper may be provided as shownand described, and it will be noted that it may readily be put on byplacing the closely knitted portion at the center between the legs andbuttoning the edges of the front over the buttons at the edges of theback thereby providing neat and closely'fitting edges around the legsand at the same time providing fullness at the front and back to insureabsolute comfort to the wearer. Several button holes may be provided atthe front so that the upper ends may be adjusted snugly around the bodyso that the diaper will be positively secured in place. The diaper mayreadily be removed and replaced and it will be noted that a diaperformed in this manner is more readily put on and taken off and at thesame time insures greater comfort and eliminates safety pins or otherindependent fastening means.

Having thus fully described the invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

A diaper comprising a substantially elongated rectangular body portionhaving a narrow intermediate crotch portion upon which the body portionis adapted to be folded, the opposite ends of the diaper beingsymmetrical from the fold line, each end of said body portion having itsside edges bounded by continuous reverse curves providing relativelywide hip portions emerging gradually from the opposite sides of thecrotch portion and adapted to overlap at the sides of the wearers bodyand conform smoothly to the hips, said continuous reverse curvesproviding a reduced waist line portion and crotch portion, one end ofsaid body portion having button holes therethrough disposed adjacent theopposite corners thereof, and spaced apart transversely andlongitudinally of the body portion, the other end of said body portionhaving pairs of buttons on the outer side of the body portion to faceoutyvardly from the body and with the buttons of each pair spaced apartlengthwise of the body portion, the outer end portions only of the bodyportion adapted to overlap with the button hole carrying corners overthe buttons when on the body and said buttons adapted to engageoutwardly through selected button holes to adapt the diaper to the sizeof the waist of the infant.

WILLIAM L. LEAVY.

